Feast Days Parallel Embryonic Growth
An amazing parallel exists between "Jewish Holy Days" and the gestation of a human baby, from conception to birth. Any gynecologist can explain gestation and birth. "The ovum is liberated from the surface of the ovary around the 14th day of the cycle" (p.31, Stoppard's Pregnancy and Birth Book). On the fourteenth day of the first month, OVULATION occurs. That is the date of Passover. The gynecologist would then explain: "FERTILIZATION usually takes place within 24 hours of ovulation" (p.301, art. "Menstruation" Acad. Amer. Encyc.). This would correspond to the Feast of Unleavened Bread when the sperm unites with the egg. Next, "the embryo is IMPLANTED in the uterus 6 to 7 days after ovulation" (p.301, art. "Menstruation," Acad. Amer. Encyc.). Sure enough, the Days of Unleavened Bread continue after Passover for seven days. Next, the embryo develops arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, a head and eyes. When does this happen? "At eight weeks, the embryo is one inch long ... Its features are recognizably human at this stage. The simple beginnings of all the organs are also present, but a great deal of growth takes place in the next seven months" (p.207, art. "Embryo," World Book Encyc.). Around the fiftieth day, the embryo becomes a FETUS. That’s Pentecost! As Horace said, "Keep Nature's great original in view, And thence the truthful images pursue."
"The sensory cells and nerves of the inner EAR are probably fully developed by the end of the sixth month of prenatal life, so the newborn infant is equipped to begin to learn AUDITORY reactions as soon as the sound is properly transmitted to the inner EAR" (p.105, Biography Of The Unborn). Therefore on the first day of the seventh month, the baby’s hearing is developed. For the first time, it can hear and distinguish sounds outside the womb. This is the Festival of Trumpets.
"RED BLOOD CELL production shifts entirely to the bone marrow" in the seventh lunar month (25-28 weeks) (p.71, The Well Pregnancy Book). On the tenth day of the seventh month, the hemoglobin of the blood changes from that of the mother, to a self-sustaining baby. That corresponds to the Day of Atonement, when the blood was taken into the Holy of Holies!
"On page 253 of Human Reproduction, we read that on the twenty-eighth week the "LUNGS (are) capable of breathing air." On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the lungs become fully developed. If born before then, the baby would have a hard time breathing. That corresponds to the Festival of Tabernacles, when harvesters built temporary huts out of vines and stalks of grain. In the New Testament, the Greek term pneuma, normally translated as "breath," is applied to the "Holy Spirit."
"At approximately seven months the fetus is FULLY DEVELOPED" (p.114, Pregnancy, Birth And The Newborn Baby). It is assumed that by this point (28 weeks) the baby is 'CONSCIOUS,' based on brain development" (p.56, The Midwife's Pregnancy And Childbirth Book by McCartney and VanDerMeer). "In the U.K., according to legal definition, the foetus becomes 'VIABLE' at 28 weeks" (p.76, Your Baby Before Birth, McCubbin). Yes, "the seven-month fetus is frequently able to survive premature birth.... in the seventh-month fetus the nervous system seems to be sufficiently developed to meet these demands of INDEPENDENT life" (p.109, Biography Of The Unborn). Babies turn head-down inside the uterus "after about 28 weeks, and stay that way until birth" (p.86, Pregnancy Day By Day by Kitzinger and Bailey). Just as a Christian is no longer living in a temporary shelter or hut on the Last Great Day, so also the baby no longer needs to live in the womb on the 22nd day of the seventh month. The Christian has been "born again" (John 3:3) just as the baby is born once. This is the meaning of the Eighth Day. Birth usually takes place on the 280th day or tenth day of the ninth month. The eight days of Hanukkah are celebrated right on schedule, nine months and ten days after Passover.
28 Days, 28 Weeks and 280 Days All Significant
Normally babies are in their mother's wombs for 266 days from fertilization till delivery. But since fertilization occurs on the fourteenth day of the menstrual cycle, doctors add fourteen days to 266 to get 280 DAYS from the last menstrual period to the birth date. This is FORTY WEEKS or nine calendar months. It is an unusual coincidence that 280 DAYS (10 x 28) is a multiple of 28. Further, the moon was originally created with a precise 28-day sidereal orbit around the earth to match the woman's menstrual cycle of 28 days. Today, however, it takes the moon about 27 1/3 days to orbit 360 degrees. But by the twenty-eighth or twenty-ninth week (the Last Great Day is the 28th week plus six days), the baby will survive birth. "At twenty-eight weeks the fetus is VIABLE, which means that, according to legal definition, it is capable of a separate and INDEPENDENT existence, and if prematurely born, has its first chance of SURVIVAL. Occasionally babies delivered before the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy do Survive with very highly specialized expert medical and nursing care and attention, but they are very few and very lucky" (p.71, Pregnancy by Bourne and Danforth). According to The Complete Pregnancy Workbook by Sloane, Benedict and Mintzer, by the 29th week "Development has progressed enough so that nearly half of fetuses can, if born this early, SURVIVE with intensive care" (p.122). At 28 weeks "the development of the fetus is virtually completed, and some premature babies are BORN no older than this one. The extra time in the womb gives it added strength and health and time to acquire from its mother precious, though short-term, immunity to a number of diseases" (p.16, Life Before Birth by Time Inc.). "At approximately seven months the fetus is FULLY DEVELOPED" (p.114, Pregnancy, Birth And The Newborn Baby). It is assumed that by this point (28 weeks) the baby is 'CONSCIOUS,' based on brain development" (p.56, The Midwife's Pregnancy And Childbirth Book by McCartney and VanDerMeer). "In the U.K., according to legal definition, the foetus becomes 'VIABLE' at 28 weeks" (p.76, Your Baby Before Birth, McCubbin). Yes, "the seven-month fetus is frequently able to survive premature birth.... in the seventh-month fetus the nervous system seems to be sufficiently developed to meet these demands of INDEPENDENT life" (p.109, Biography Of The Unborn). Babies turn head-down inside the uterus "after about 28 weeks, and stay that way until birth" (p.86, Pregnancy Day By Day by Kitzinger and Bailey).Just as a Christian is no longer living in a temporary shelter or hut on the Last Great Day, so also the baby is no longer living in the womb on the 22nd day of the seventh month. The Christian has been "born again" (John 3:3) just as the baby has been born once. This is the meaning of the Last Great Day. Thus we see that the mother (church) is a sort of womb (boothe) for the baby (Christian). Birth (immortality) doesn't therefore automatically make the baby (Christian) a mature adult (totally God-like) all at once. Even after immortality there comes a maturing process just as a baby grows into adulthood as a mature human. Many premature babies don't survive just as many Christians will not survive birth into immortality. This is the second death and those Christians who refuse to grow and mature will be "still births."
Therefore, is our Christian development typified by a baby in the womb? Yes, because Christ said we must be born as flesh-and-blood children and then as children composed of spirit (John 3:3-8). By re-enacting the steps in the growth of the physical embryo every year, we are actually growing spiritually so that when the woman feels the birth pangs we will be born again at Christ's return. "All other animals give birth to their young without pain; but woman must endure the severest sufferings" -- (Aristot. de Hist. Anim. 7:9)
No human being could have understood the gestation period 3,500 years ago. The establishment of the Jewish Holy Days was given to Moses by Yahweh, Himself. Its correlation with the human gestation period is not only remarkable; it proves "Intelligent Design." It proves the existence of an intelligence beyond this world. It proves that there is a Creator God that guides the affairs of man. Therefore, if these festivals are so much a part of the creation itself that they are "built into" it, we should not forsake "the assembling of ourselves together (on the festivals), as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Heb. 10:25)
Menstruation & Ovulation Represent Passover
Coming to Exodus 12, we read about BLOOD being put "on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses" where the Israelites ate the lambs on the fourteenth day of the month just after it began at evening (Ex.12:6-7). The first-born Israelite was inside. In the same way, the woman MENSTRUATES BLOOD on the first two to five days of the month. Since MENSTRUATION is a sign that the woman is not pregnant, the BLOOD around the door was a sign to the death angel that the house was not occupied. This is the meaning of MENSTRUATION -- the woman is not pregnant so there's no need for an abortion. But this unnatural MENSTRUATION occurs on the 14th instead of the first because it pictures CHRIST'S SUBSTITUTE DEATH on Passover, Nisan 14, rather than normal human death (MENSTRUATION). This 14th day is when OVULATION takes place and the ovum is inside. So we see that MENSTRUATION symbolizes the death of Christ so that the ovum can be fertilized with life. He paid the death penalty so that the limited life span of an ovum -- less than 24 hours that it can be fertilized -- can be given human life. In the same way, humans have a limited 70-year lifespan unless they receive the Holy Spirit from God the Father. The "destroyer" of Exodus 12:23 would be the termination of the ovum before the sperm got to it. SEX and REPRODUCTION are actually the physical type of IMMORTALITY in the spiritual realm. God lives forever. Physical men decay and grow old. In order to portray humans as LIVING FOREVER, God had to invent SEX whereby the descendants look, think and act like their ancestors. In this way, God created a physical way of portraying IMMORTALITY even though it doesn't exist in the physical realm. God is reproducing himself. Christians are the eggs that are fertilized with the Holy Spirit of eternal life (sperm or divine life -- 2 Pet.1:4). God and Christ are in a FATHER-SON relationship (John 14:28. Jesus is the "firstborn" (by his resurrection) of many BRETHREN (Rom.8:29). Christ and his true church are engaged to be married (Eph.5:25-27; Rev.19:7). They are in a HUSBAND-WIFE relationship. Humans, created in the physical image of God, may receive the gift of God's Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39, the sperm, and become embryonic CHILDREN of God (Rom.8:14-17). And "if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken (make immortal) your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom.8:11). Those thus begotten of God are baptised into (that is, immersed into or put into) God's church or bride (1 Cor.12:13). This is the MOTHER-CHILD relationship. The human embryo or fetus (Christian) is fed and protected inside the mother's womb. The church of God is "the MOTHER of us all" (Gal.4:26; Heb.12:22-23). The church must "FEED the flock" with spiritual food from the Bible (Matt,4:4) and PROTECT Christians from false doctrine. The church is "for the perfecting of the saints ... for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect (full grown, spiritual) man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph.4:12-13). Till we all come to the nine-month term PREGNANCY known as the resurrection. The begotten Christian must grow spiritually -- develop character (2 Pet.3:18) -- to be ready to be born as a spirit being -- composed of spirit -- just as a physical fetus GROWS toward physical birth as a human. At Christ's coming, he will marry his church and the begotten mortal heirs will become the "BORN AGAIN" immortal inheritors of God's household family known as the Kingdom of God. Christians will enter into the ruling government FAMILY of God. A kingdom is a government.God is presently forming us in his SPIRITUAL IMAGE inside the church. Creation is still going on (2 Cor.5:17). God said, "Let us make man in our image" (Gen.1:27) -- both physically and spiritually. We must develop the CHARACTER of RIGHTEOUSNESS. God allows man free moral agency and the right to exercise free choice in order that man can develop SELF-DISCIPLINE. Godly CHARACTER takes a lifetime to develop. Its a matter of choosing to DO RIGHT rather than wrong even if you desire to do wrong. Choices become HABITS and HABITS become SET PATTERNS. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a HABIT" -- Aristotle. "Success is the sum of small efforts, REPEATED day in and day out" -- Robert Collier. So we see that the MOTHER is the HOUSE in Exodus. Her VAGINA is the DOOR. MENSTRUATION is the BLOOD of the LAMB around the door. The FOURTEENTH day (OVULATION) is PASSOVER. The DESTROYER is the normal DEATH of the ovum in less than 24 hours if not impregnated by sperm.Before we proceed further, let us notice what secular, non-religious books teach about pregnancy and childbirth. On page 55 of Conception, Birth and Contraception we find a diagram illustrating that OVULATION occurs on day fourteen of a woman's cycle. On page 57 we read that "fertilization occurs on the fourteenth day of the MENSTRUAL cycle." On page 93 we read about "a perfectly regular twenty-eight day cycle." Yes, the MENSTRUAL cycle is 28 days on the average (p.300, art. "Menstruation" Acad. Amer. Encyc.). "At midcycle, day 14, the oocyte within this follicle matures, the follicle ruptures, and OVULATION occurs with the release of the mature oocyte down the fallopian tube" (p.301, ibid.) "About midway through the MENSTRUAL CYCLE, 14 to 15 days before the next period, the ovary releases the mature egg in a process called OVULATION" (p.180, art. "menstruation," Funk & Wagnalls New Encyc.). "The human female normally has a 28-day reproductive, or MENSTRUAL CYCLE, with OVULATION usually occurring about 14 days before the onset of MENSTRUATION (p. 223, "Reproduction" Funk & Wagnalls). "The ovum is LIBERATED from the surface of the ovary around the 14th day of the cycle" (p.31, Stoppard's Pregnancy and Birth Book).God designed WOMEN. God designed the MOON'S ORIGINAL ORBIT. God wrote the BIBLE. The fact that all three independent sources agreed with eachother originally is proof that one Master Designer produced all three.
Fertilization Typifies The First Day Of Unleavened Bread
God began to lead the Israelites out of Egypt on the FIFTEENTH day of the first month. He is typified by the SPERM uniting with the ovum to prevent it from dying in the land of Egypt so to speak. He leads the egg out of the fallopian tube. The same is true of humans in sin. When they are CONVERTED and given the Holy Spirit, they come out of their sinful lifestyles. This is known as FERTILIZATION or CONCEPTION which is actually CONVERSION. It is made possible by God the Father who sends his Holy Spirit or sperm into the church or woman -- "the mother of us all" (Gal. 4:26). Yes, "out of his BELLY shall flow rivers of LIVING WATER" (John 7:38) -- the SEMEN. It is living water that comes out of a father's belly. We are BEGOTTEN when we become IMPREGNATED with eternal life (Isa.44:3). Newly converted Christians start out with only a small portion of God's Holy Spirit (2 Cor.1:22; Eph.1:14), just as the human sperm is very small, about one fiftieth the size of the ovum. Most new Christians are still 99% carnal. Those at Corinth were (1 Cor.3:1-3). There wasn't much spiritual knowledge or character yet.
Just as the sperm unites with the nucleus of the egg, so also the Holy Spirit unites with the human mind. Then we no longer have only human nature. We have Divine nature to a degree. God's spirit unites with, and witnesses with, our spirit that we are now the children of God (Rom.8:16). Now we can understand and appreciate spiritual knowledge (1 Cor.2:11). At the resurrection, God will "quicken" or enliven our mortal bodies to immortality by his Spirit that "dwelleth in us" (Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor.15:49-53).
Instead of the Holy Spirit (sperm) coming inside of each of the firstborn Israelites (ova), we find that "on the FIFTEENTH day of the first month" (Num.33:3), "the Eternal did bring (lit. "begin bringing") the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt ... And the Eternal spoke unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the first-born, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel ... it is mine" (Ex.12:51 & 13:1-2). Yes, FERTILIZATION takes place on the FIFTEENTH day of the mother's first month. If it doesn't occur, the egg dies in Egypt figuratively.
Yes, "after ovulation, the egg is available for FERTILIZATION for approximately twelve to twenty-four hours" (p.93, Conception, Birth And Contraception). "The process of FERTILIZATION probably takes a little more than twenty-four hours" (p.3, Pictorial Human Embryo-logy). "FERTILIZATION usually takes place within 24 hours of ovulation" (p.301, art. "Menstruation" Acad. Amer. Encyc.). "The period during which the egg can be FERTILIZED is less than twenty-four hours -- a very short time in a twenty-eight day reproductive cycle" (p.45, Conception, Birth And Contraception). Also, "Since sperm can survive for several days within the female reproductive tract and can also move rapidly from cervix to midpoint in the tube, FERTILIZATION can take place if coitus occurs anytime from several days prior to ovulation to twenty-four or more hours after ovulation" (p.46, ibid.) (11th to 15th day).These references show that the FIFTEENTH day of the mother's month is the day of FERTILIZATION by the Father. Human life is given to the egg by the sperm of a human father. But it isn't yet fully human until after human birth. In the same way, Divine life is given to the human by the Holy Spirit of God the Father. But the Christian is not yet Divine to the fullest extent until after the resurrection. Yet Christians are in their human state called "gods" (John 10:34-35; Ps.82:6).
Implantation Typifies The Last Day Of Unleavened Bread
If the fallopian-tube travel and the free travel in the uterus represent the land of Egypt, then the embryo attaching to the uterine lining must represent entering Israel. The time sequence is the same in both sets of events. Just as the Israelites left Egypt completely on the TWENTY-FIRST day of the month, so also the embryo implants in the uterus on the TWENTY-FIRST day of the menstrual cycle.
After Israel had taken "three days' journey into the wilderness" (Ex.3:18; 5:23; 8:27) on foot, and had begun sacrificing to the Eternal, Pharaoh felt he had done his duty (Ant.2:15:3) and heard that Israel was "entangled in the land" (Ex.14:3-5) and pursued with "six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt" (14:7) as well as "two hundred thousand footmen" (Ant.2:15:3). This point in time parallels that instant when the EMBRYO LEAVES the FALLOPIAN TUBE -- day 19 -- and enters the larger and more accommodating uterus. Pharaoh then took two days -- Abib 19 and 20 -- to catch up. This represents the FREE TRAVEL IN the UTERUS by the embryo. Then all night long the Eternal kept the two camps apart (14:20) while the Israelites passed through the sea (14:21-22). The morning of the twenty-first of Abib witnessed the destruction of the Egyptian army. Then Moses and Miriam sang a song (Ex.15) and held a worship service to God (Ex.15:1-22) showing this day was one of the holy convocations. The EMBRYO also REACHES "SAFETY ON SHORE" on the twenty-first day when it implants.
Yes, "Fertilization usually takes place within 24 hours of ovulation, and the embryo is IMPLANTED in the uterus 6 to 7 days after ovulation" (p.301, art. "Menstruation," Acad. Amer. Encyc.). "Seven days following fertilization, these cells, now called the blastocyst, or conceptus, IMPLANT inside the lining of the uterus" (p.502, art. "pregnancy and birth" vol.15, Acad Amer. Encyc.). "About six days after fertilization the zona pellucida degenerates and the blastocyst becomes attached to and embedded in the endometrium" (p.4, Pictorial Human Embryology). "The former ovum, changing all the time, moves into the uterus. It EMBEDS itself in the wall of the uterus about 7 days after fertilization occurs" (p.25, How We Are Born). "At the end of the first week of life it has burrowed deep into the lining -- this is called IMPLANTATION -- where it is continuously bathed in a lake of its mother's blood" (p.31, Stoppard's Pregnancy and Birth Book). (The Red Sea) "The three to five days the egg takes to reach the uterus (wavesheaf) after being released by the ovary is known as the woman's fertile period" (p.180, "Menstruation," Funk And Wagnalls). On page 55 of Conception, Birth And Contraception we see a chart showing ovulation on the 14th, fertilization on the 15th, entrance into the uterus on the 19th (wave-sheaf), and IMPLANTATION on the 21st. "About seven days after ovulation, the amount of progesterone is at its peak" (p.697, Biology For Christian Schools). "It takes about three days for the young embryo to reach the uterus (wave-sheaf), and by then the embryo consists of a solid mass of about sixteen cells. Once inside the uterus, the embryo remains free within the uterine cavity for about three additional days. Before the tiny embryo ATTACHES to the mother's uterus, the energy needed for growth is supplied by its own cytoplasm and nutrients secreted by the uterus" (p.698, ibid.). In other words, the wave-sheaf is the eighteenth and that is the same Abib 18 when Christ was accepted by the Father in anti-type (John 20:17; Matt.28:9; Lev.23:11). Christ ARRIVED in heaven on Abib 18. The embryo ARRIVES at the uterus on Abib 18 and Israel ARRIVED at the Red Sea after "three days' journey into the wilderness" on Abib 18 (Num.33:7; Ex.14:9,2; 3:18; 5:3; 8:27) and sacrificed to the Eternal.
Pentecost Symbolizes The Beginning Of Fetal Development
The Bible teaches that we must count fifty days from the "wave-sheaf Sunday" within the Feast of Unleavened Bread in order to arrive at the Feast of PENTECOST. Translated into the context of childbirth, we must count fifty days from the 17th to 19th day of the menstrual cycle when the fertilized ovum enters the uterus.
Thus we must count fifty days from the 17th to 19th day, or as the medical profession does it, we could count 53 to 55 days from conception (the first day of Unleavened Bread). This brings us to the eighth week of embryonic development or the 56th day if we use the 19th as our "wave-sheaf Sunday."
Incidentally, the Old Covenant agreement of obedience to God's law by Israel was made on PENTECOST (See Jasher 82:1-7; Ex.19:1; 24:5). Also, the New Covenant agreement of obedience to God's law in the spirit and intent by the church was also made on PENTECOST (Luke 24:49; Acts 2:1). It was on this day that the Holy Spirit came as well as the Law Covenant of Exodus 24. In other words, the developing church reaches a certain form and then merely increases in size and ability from that point onward. Humans must have functioning ability. Once they reach that point, they have reached a new threshold where all that's left is to develop and grow.
Thoughts become words. Words become actions. Actions become habits. Habits become your destiny. "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh" (Matt. 12:34). "As a man thinketh, so is he (Pr. 23:7).
Yes, "By the end of this week (8th week since conception) all organs are represented and nearly all the major structures are formed.... At this time the embryo's tail disappears.... The fingers and toes become completely separated.... A few of the embryo's features are recognizably human ... The eyelids and external ear are more completely developed. Taste buds begin ... By the end of the week, tooth buds of all twenty non-permanent teeth will be present. The heart has attained its final shape" (p.32, Your Baby Before Birth, McCubbin). "At eight weeks, the embryo is one inch long ... Its features are recognizably human at this stage. The simple beginnings of all the organs are also present, but a great deal of growth must take place in the next seven months" (p.207, art. "Embryo," World Book Encyc.). "At the eighth week, all major internal organs are present. Up to this time was the most critical stage of development.... At the end of the second month, the embryo is clearly recognizable as a human. From this point until its birth, it is called the FETUS, which means offspring" (p.700, Biology For Christian Schools). "By eight weeks the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and digits are recognizable. The FETUS has differentiated the reproductive organs into distinct male or female (p.503, Acad. Amer. Encyc.). A 'FETUS " is defined as "the unborn young from the end of the eighth week to the moment of birth" (p.486, Amer. Her. Dict.).Yes, the knowledge of God's law and the Holy Spirit to obey that law are like having "all major internal organs" present in the spiritual Christian. At this stage, the human is recognizable as a god. This is the stage where full development is apparent but not yet a reality. From here on, the FETUS mainly just grows larger. Notice that none of the benchmark dates given so far have been subjective or arbitrary. All are recognized by doctors and nurses and gynecologists as real and significant dates. The quotations have not been taken from religious books. These are secular books and objective dates -- the FOURTEENTH, FIFTEENTH and TWENTY-FIRST of the first month and the FIFTIETH day from the eighteenth which will always fall in the third month. The only conclusion we can draw is that God designed the process of childbirth to parallel exactly the process of salvation typified by the holy festivals of Leviticus 23. Abortionists are tampering with a physical type of the salvation process.
The Eyes And Ears Are Opened By Trumpets
The twenty-sixth week since menstruation finds the pregnancy at the Feast of Trumpets stage (actually it is 25 weeks plus five days, but the pregnancy books show the breakdown in even weekly segments so we must look at the "twenty-six" week segment for the Feast of Trumpets.)We read that "The sensory cells and nerves of the inner EAR are probably fully developed by the end of the sixth month of prenatal life, so the newborn infant is equipped to begin to learn AUDITORY reactions as soon as the sound is properly transmitted to the inner EAR" (p.105, Biography Of The Unborn). "The EYES and internal EARS ... (are not functional) before the end of the sixth month" (pp.101-102, ibid.). Yes, "there is little evidence that the human fetus reacts to SOUND before the seventh month of development. But there is some evidence that during the last two months of intra-uterine life the fetus can be startled by SOUNDS transmitted to it through the walls of the uterus and the mother's abdomen" (p.104, ibid.). It takes several months after birth for the infant to learn the complex reflex movements of the various EYE muscles that are necessary for controlling binocu-lar vision, but his EYES and brain are ready for this learning process by the seventh month of prenatal life" (p.103, ibid.). "The EYELIDS open during the seventh month" (p.700, Biology For Christian Schools). "The EYES are closed until the seventh month, but after that we can be fairly sure that the fetus perceives light as a reddish shimmer" (p.135, A Child Is Born by Lennart Nilsson). Yes, "around this time the foetal EYELIDS reopen" (p.69, Your Baby Before Birth). "At about week 26 the baby's EYELIDS unfuse and reopen. The EYES are completely formed now and perceive light. In addition, the baby can actually HEAR, SMELL and TASTE, and it has been responsive to TOUCH for some time ... its sucking and swallowing skills develop further, helping to prepare for life outside the uterus" (p.70, The Well Pregnancy Book by Mike and Nancy Samuels). "26 weeks: Your baby may move about when it hears loud NOISES" (p.56, The Midwife's Pregnancy and Childbirth Book by McCarthy and Van Der Meer). "By the end of the sixth month the fetus is prepared for this part of independent life (SUCKING and SWALLOWING)" (p.108, Biography Of The Unborn). "Seventh month ... TASTE buds have developed" (p.2, How does your baby grow? by Lederle Laboratories). "By the seventh lunar month, the EYE is sensitive to light ... The internal, middle, and external components of the EAR are well developed by mid-pregnancy. The fetus apparently HEARS some sounds in utero as early as the 24th to 26th week of gestation ... by the seventh month of gestation, the fetus is responsive to variations in the TASTE of ingested substances" (pp.166-167, Williams Obstetrics). "Sixth month ... The EYES are open and will soon be sensitive to light ... Your baby can now HEAR sounds" (p.2, How does your baby grow?). "The nostrils are plugged shut from the third through sixth months by an overgrowth of skin cells. When the NOSTRILS are opened in the seventh month, amniotic fluid probably flows into the nasal cavities and bathes the olfactory lining" (p.106, Biography Of The Unborn).The fetus is figuratively "awakened" from its "sleep" on the Feast of Trumpets just as many Christians who sleep in their graves will be resurrected to life on this day. The trumpet will SOUND and the dead in Christ will rise first (1 Cor.15:52). In another sense, many Christians will be spiritually asleep in the end-time until the second coming of Christ at the last trump. He is pictured as returning to ten virgins -- all of whom are sleeping (Matt.25:5). When he comes on the Feast of Trumpets, they will awaken. By destroying the fetus at this stage, an abortionist typifies Satan's effort to cause Christians to fall away in the end time.
The Blood Of Atonement
In the second week of the seventh month, the BLOOD has matured to the point of being able to carry oxygen via the hemoglobin independently by respiration and circulation (p.26, The Seven Feasts Of Israel, Levitt). At twenty-eight weeks "Erythropoiesis in spleen ends; bone marrow becomes major sight" of BLOOD production (p.253, Human Reproduction by Page, Villee & Villee). "At 26 to 28 weeks, CAPILLARY networks proliferate close to the developing alveoli" (p.261, ibid.). "RED BLOOD CELL production shifts entirely to the bone marrow" in the seventh lunar month (25-28 weeks) (p.71, The Well Pregnancy Book). A chart on page 151 of Williams Obstetrics, 17th edition, illustrates the fact that BLOOD production shifts from the liver to the bone marrow in the seventh month.Aaron offered one goat as a sin offering and brought its BLOOD within the veil (Lev.16:15). At no other time in the year did BLOOD come inside the veil or upon the mercy seat. Similarly, this is the first time in fetal development when BLOOD production is in the bone.
Lungs Develop On The Feast Of Booths
Actually the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles is one day before the twenty-eighth week is completed, but the books on pregnancy only go by regular weekly intervals -- not daily development -- so we must look at the 28th week of pregnancy for Tabernacles."The LUNGS themselves are poorly developed before the seventh month of fetal life.... By the seventh month of prenatal life enough AIR SACS have developed to provide the growing fetus with the oxygen needed for life. The muscles of the chest wall and diaphragm necessary for INHALING and EXHALING are fully functional. When the reflex nerve arcs necessary for controlling their rhythmic contraction and relaxation mature within the brain, the fetus is ready to start regular BREATHING" (pp.113-114, Biography Of The Unborn). "Twenty-eight week fetus. At about this stage the LUNG has matured to the extent of usually allowing for some aerobic exchange, but it is a very hazardous time to be born. The major cause of death from this period of development till adulthood is prematurity, being born too soon. The major reason for death in the premature is respiratory insufficiency.... The LUNGS become increasingly capable of aerobic oxygen exchange in late fetal life" (p.43, Prenatal Life And The Pregnant Woman). On page 253 of Human Reproduction, we read that on the twenty-eighth week the "LUNGS (are) capable of breathing air." Charts on pages 159 and 161 of Williams Obstetrics demonstrate significant changes in theRESPIRATORY system at about 28 weeks.Of course, just as humans live in temporary booths or huts for seven days (Lev.23:39), the time will come when resurrected Christians will live inside of human beings as SPIRIT. The fetus now can breathe in AIR (pneuma or ruach means AIR or SPIRIT). Just as the Holy Spirit lives inside of true Christians now, so also true Christians made immortal will live inside of converted humans in the millenium. From this point on the child is living in a temporary dwelling (the womb) that it will no longer need.
Baby Will Survive If Born On The Eighth Day
Normally babies are in their mother's wombs for 266 days from fertilization till delivery. But since fertilization occurs on the fourteenth day of the menstrual cycle, doctors add fourteen days to 266 to get 280 DAYS from the last menstrual period to the birth date. This is FORTY WEEKS or nine calendar months. It is an unusual coincidence that 280 DAYS (10 x 28) is a multiple of 28. Further, the moon was originally created with a precise 28-day sidereal orbit around the earth to match the woman's menstrual cycle of 28 days. Today, however, it takes the moon about 27 1/3 days to orbit 360 degrees. But by the twenty-eighth or twenty-ninth week (the Last Great Day is the 28th week plus six days), the baby will survive birth. "At twenty-eight weeks the fetus is VIABLE, which means that, according to legal definition, it is capable of a separate and INDEPENDENT existence, and if prematurely born, has its first chance of SURVIVAL. Occasionally babies delivered before the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy do Survive with very highly specialized expert medical and nursing care and attention, but they are very few and very lucky" (p.71, Pregnancy by Bourne and Danforth). According to The Complete Pregnancy Workbook by Sloane, Benedict and Mintzer, by the 29th week "Development has progressed enough so that nearly half of fetuses can, if born this early, SURVIVE with intensive care" (p.122). At 28 weeks "the development of the fetus is virtually completed, and some premature babies are BORN no older than this one. The extra time in the womb gives it added strength and health and time to acquire from its mother precious, though short-term, immunity to a number of diseases" (p.16, Life Before Birth by Time Inc.). "At approximately seven months the fetus is FULLY DEVELOPED" (p.114, Pregnancy, Birth And The Newborn Baby). It is assumed that by this point (28 weeks) the baby is 'CONSCIOUS,' based on brain development" (p.56, The Midwife's Pregnancy And Childbirth Book by McCartney and VanDerMeer). "In the U.K., according to legal definition, the foetus becomes 'VIABLE' at 28 weeks" (p.76, Your Baby Before Birth, McCubbin). Yes, "the seven-month fetus is frequently able to survive premature birth.... in the seventh-month fetus the nervous system seems to be sufficiently developed to meet these demands of INDEPENDENT life" (p.109, Biography Of The Unborn). Babies turn head-down inside the uterus "after about 28 weeks, and stay that way until birth" (p.86, Pregnancy Day By Day by Kitzinger and Bailey).Just as a Christian is no longer living in a temporary shelter or hut on the Last Great Day, so also the baby is no longer living in the womb on the 22nd day of the seventh month. The Christian has been "born again" (John 3:3) just as the baby has been born once. This is the meaning of the Last Great Day. Thus we see that the mother (church) is a sort of womb (boothe) for the baby (Christian). Birth (immortality) doesn't therefore automatically make the baby (Christian) a mature adult (totally God-like) all at once. Even after immortality there comes a maturing process just as a baby grows into adulthood as a mature human. Many premature babies don't survive just as many Christians will not survive birth into immortality. This is the second death and those Christians who refuse to grow and mature will be "still births."
Birth Is A Type Of The Resurrection
The labor pains of birth are a type and prophecy of the great tribulation on Christians just before Christ returns. Just before Christians are resurrected to life, they must endure the persecution against the true church (Micah 4:9-10; 1 Th.5:3; John 16:21; Rev.12:2). The pain will increase to the point of blood -- or martyrdoms. The woman will be torn apart by schism and division as the resurrection takes place.Under labor contractions, the amnion sac bulges and bursts "breaking the water." After about fourteen hours, the baby has been pushed out of the mother's uterus and the umbilical cord is cut. With a pat on the baby's rump, it begins to breathe. A small amount of blood accompanies the afterbirth, but the uterus usually heals quickly.Incidentally, we know that Esau was a "premature" baby because he "came out red, all over like an hairy garment" (Gen.25:25). We know that around the 28th week "The foetus's skin is red and completely covered by its protective greasy coating, or vernix" (p.76, Your Baby Before Birth). "By six months of age specialized structures in the baby's skin are formed ... There is a fine growth of hair on the head and sometimes over the back and shoulders" (p.113, Pregnancy, Birth And The Newborn Baby). By the seventh month a "Protective blanket of downy hair and cheesy substance called 'vernix' cover body" (p.20, The Maternity Sourcebook by Lesko). In the seventh month, "The fine hair that once covered the whole body now becomes limited to the back and shoulders" (p.71, The Well Pregnancy Book). "Seventh month -- Fine downy hair covers your baby's body" (How does your baby grow? by Lederle laboratories). "During the seventh month the skin, which is red and wrinkled, is covered with a white substance called a vernix, or vernix caseosa which protects the skin. The vernix is a mixture of epithelial cells, lanugo hairs, and secretions" (p.148, art. "Fetus," Funk & Wagnalls New Encyc.). But Jacob was born at the same time and was normal. So we can conclude that Esau stopped developing at about week 28, but was born later than the twenty-eighth week. He was "premature" in the sense of development.
No human being could have understood the gestation period 3,500 years ago. The establishment of the Jewish Holy Days was given to Moses by Yahweh, Himself. Its correlation with the human gestation period is not only remarkable; it proves "Intelligent Design." It proves the existence of an intelligence beyond this world. It proves that there is a Creator God that guides the affairs of man. Therefore, if these festivals are so much a part of the creation itself that they are "built into" it, we should not forsake "the assembling of ourselves together (on the festivals), as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Heb. 10:25)
Menstruation & Ovulation Represent Passover
Coming to Exodus 12, we read about BLOOD being put "on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses" where the Israelites ate the lambs on the fourteenth day of the month just after it began at evening (Ex.12:6-7). The first-born Israelite was inside. In the same way, the woman MENSTRUATES BLOOD on the first two to five days of the month. Since MENSTRUATION is a sign that the woman is not pregnant, the BLOOD around the door was a sign to the death angel that the house was not occupied. This is the meaning of MENSTRUATION -- the woman is not pregnant so there's no need for an abortion. But this unnatural MENSTRUATION occurs on the 14th instead of the first because it pictures CHRIST'S SUBSTITUTE DEATH on Passover, Nisan 14, rather than normal human death (MENSTRUATION). This 14th day is when OVULATION takes place and the ovum is inside. So we see that MENSTRUATION symbolizes the death of Christ so that the ovum can be fertilized with life. He paid the death penalty so that the limited life span of an ovum -- less than 24 hours that it can be fertilized -- can be given human life. In the same way, humans have a limited 70-year lifespan unless they receive the Holy Spirit from God the Father. The "destroyer" of Exodus 12:23 would be the termination of the ovum before the sperm got to it. SEX and REPRODUCTION are actually the physical type of IMMORTALITY in the spiritual realm. God lives forever. Physical men decay and grow old. In order to portray humans as LIVING FOREVER, God had to invent SEX whereby the descendants look, think and act like their ancestors. In this way, God created a physical way of portraying IMMORTALITY even though it doesn't exist in the physical realm. God is reproducing himself. Christians are the eggs that are fertilized with the Holy Spirit of eternal life (sperm or divine life -- 2 Pet.1:4). God and Christ are in a FATHER-SON relationship (John 14:28. Jesus is the "firstborn" (by his resurrection) of many BRETHREN (Rom.8:29). Christ and his true church are engaged to be married (Eph.5:25-27; Rev.19:7). They are in a HUSBAND-WIFE relationship. Humans, created in the physical image of God, may receive the gift of God's Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39, the sperm, and become embryonic CHILDREN of God (Rom.8:14-17). And "if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken (make immortal) your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom.8:11). Those thus begotten of God are baptised into (that is, immersed into or put into) God's church or bride (1 Cor.12:13). This is the MOTHER-CHILD relationship. The human embryo or fetus (Christian) is fed and protected inside the mother's womb. The church of God is "the MOTHER of us all" (Gal.4:26; Heb.12:22-23). The church must "FEED the flock" with spiritual food from the Bible (Matt,4:4) and PROTECT Christians from false doctrine. The church is "for the perfecting of the saints ... for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect (full grown, spiritual) man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph.4:12-13). Till we all come to the nine-month term PREGNANCY known as the resurrection. The begotten Christian must grow spiritually -- develop character (2 Pet.3:18) -- to be ready to be born as a spirit being -- composed of spirit -- just as a physical fetus GROWS toward physical birth as a human. At Christ's coming, he will marry his church and the begotten mortal heirs will become the "BORN AGAIN" immortal inheritors of God's household family known as the Kingdom of God. Christians will enter into the ruling government FAMILY of God. A kingdom is a government.God is presently forming us in his SPIRITUAL IMAGE inside the church. Creation is still going on (2 Cor.5:17). God said, "Let us make man in our image" (Gen.1:27) -- both physically and spiritually. We must develop the CHARACTER of RIGHTEOUSNESS. God allows man free moral agency and the right to exercise free choice in order that man can develop SELF-DISCIPLINE. Godly CHARACTER takes a lifetime to develop. Its a matter of choosing to DO RIGHT rather than wrong even if you desire to do wrong. Choices become HABITS and HABITS become SET PATTERNS. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a HABIT" -- Aristotle. "Success is the sum of small efforts, REPEATED day in and day out" -- Robert Collier. So we see that the MOTHER is the HOUSE in Exodus. Her VAGINA is the DOOR. MENSTRUATION is the BLOOD of the LAMB around the door. The FOURTEENTH day (OVULATION) is PASSOVER. The DESTROYER is the normal DEATH of the ovum in less than 24 hours if not impregnated by sperm.Before we proceed further, let us notice what secular, non-religious books teach about pregnancy and childbirth. On page 55 of Conception, Birth and Contraception we find a diagram illustrating that OVULATION occurs on day fourteen of a woman's cycle. On page 57 we read that "fertilization occurs on the fourteenth day of the MENSTRUAL cycle." On page 93 we read about "a perfectly regular twenty-eight day cycle." Yes, the MENSTRUAL cycle is 28 days on the average (p.300, art. "Menstruation" Acad. Amer. Encyc.). "At midcycle, day 14, the oocyte within this follicle matures, the follicle ruptures, and OVULATION occurs with the release of the mature oocyte down the fallopian tube" (p.301, ibid.) "About midway through the MENSTRUAL CYCLE, 14 to 15 days before the next period, the ovary releases the mature egg in a process called OVULATION" (p.180, art. "menstruation," Funk & Wagnalls New Encyc.). "The human female normally has a 28-day reproductive, or MENSTRUAL CYCLE, with OVULATION usually occurring about 14 days before the onset of MENSTRUATION (p. 223, "Reproduction" Funk & Wagnalls). "The ovum is LIBERATED from the surface of the ovary around the 14th day of the cycle" (p.31, Stoppard's Pregnancy and Birth Book).God designed WOMEN. God designed the MOON'S ORIGINAL ORBIT. God wrote the BIBLE. The fact that all three independent sources agreed with eachother originally is proof that one Master Designer produced all three.
Fertilization Typifies The First Day Of Unleavened Bread
God began to lead the Israelites out of Egypt on the FIFTEENTH day of the first month. He is typified by the SPERM uniting with the ovum to prevent it from dying in the land of Egypt so to speak. He leads the egg out of the fallopian tube. The same is true of humans in sin. When they are CONVERTED and given the Holy Spirit, they come out of their sinful lifestyles. This is known as FERTILIZATION or CONCEPTION which is actually CONVERSION. It is made possible by God the Father who sends his Holy Spirit or sperm into the church or woman -- "the mother of us all" (Gal. 4:26). Yes, "out of his BELLY shall flow rivers of LIVING WATER" (John 7:38) -- the SEMEN. It is living water that comes out of a father's belly. We are BEGOTTEN when we become IMPREGNATED with eternal life (Isa.44:3). Newly converted Christians start out with only a small portion of God's Holy Spirit (2 Cor.1:22; Eph.1:14), just as the human sperm is very small, about one fiftieth the size of the ovum. Most new Christians are still 99% carnal. Those at Corinth were (1 Cor.3:1-3). There wasn't much spiritual knowledge or character yet.
Just as the sperm unites with the nucleus of the egg, so also the Holy Spirit unites with the human mind. Then we no longer have only human nature. We have Divine nature to a degree. God's spirit unites with, and witnesses with, our spirit that we are now the children of God (Rom.8:16). Now we can understand and appreciate spiritual knowledge (1 Cor.2:11). At the resurrection, God will "quicken" or enliven our mortal bodies to immortality by his Spirit that "dwelleth in us" (Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor.15:49-53).
Instead of the Holy Spirit (sperm) coming inside of each of the firstborn Israelites (ova), we find that "on the FIFTEENTH day of the first month" (Num.33:3), "the Eternal did bring (lit. "begin bringing") the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt ... And the Eternal spoke unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the first-born, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel ... it is mine" (Ex.12:51 & 13:1-2). Yes, FERTILIZATION takes place on the FIFTEENTH day of the mother's first month. If it doesn't occur, the egg dies in Egypt figuratively.
Yes, "after ovulation, the egg is available for FERTILIZATION for approximately twelve to twenty-four hours" (p.93, Conception, Birth And Contraception). "The process of FERTILIZATION probably takes a little more than twenty-four hours" (p.3, Pictorial Human Embryo-logy). "FERTILIZATION usually takes place within 24 hours of ovulation" (p.301, art. "Menstruation" Acad. Amer. Encyc.). "The period during which the egg can be FERTILIZED is less than twenty-four hours -- a very short time in a twenty-eight day reproductive cycle" (p.45, Conception, Birth And Contraception). Also, "Since sperm can survive for several days within the female reproductive tract and can also move rapidly from cervix to midpoint in the tube, FERTILIZATION can take place if coitus occurs anytime from several days prior to ovulation to twenty-four or more hours after ovulation" (p.46, ibid.) (11th to 15th day).These references show that the FIFTEENTH day of the mother's month is the day of FERTILIZATION by the Father. Human life is given to the egg by the sperm of a human father. But it isn't yet fully human until after human birth. In the same way, Divine life is given to the human by the Holy Spirit of God the Father. But the Christian is not yet Divine to the fullest extent until after the resurrection. Yet Christians are in their human state called "gods" (John 10:34-35; Ps.82:6).
Implantation Typifies The Last Day Of Unleavened Bread
If the fallopian-tube travel and the free travel in the uterus represent the land of Egypt, then the embryo attaching to the uterine lining must represent entering Israel. The time sequence is the same in both sets of events. Just as the Israelites left Egypt completely on the TWENTY-FIRST day of the month, so also the embryo implants in the uterus on the TWENTY-FIRST day of the menstrual cycle.
After Israel had taken "three days' journey into the wilderness" (Ex.3:18; 5:23; 8:27) on foot, and had begun sacrificing to the Eternal, Pharaoh felt he had done his duty (Ant.2:15:3) and heard that Israel was "entangled in the land" (Ex.14:3-5) and pursued with "six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt" (14:7) as well as "two hundred thousand footmen" (Ant.2:15:3). This point in time parallels that instant when the EMBRYO LEAVES the FALLOPIAN TUBE -- day 19 -- and enters the larger and more accommodating uterus. Pharaoh then took two days -- Abib 19 and 20 -- to catch up. This represents the FREE TRAVEL IN the UTERUS by the embryo. Then all night long the Eternal kept the two camps apart (14:20) while the Israelites passed through the sea (14:21-22). The morning of the twenty-first of Abib witnessed the destruction of the Egyptian army. Then Moses and Miriam sang a song (Ex.15) and held a worship service to God (Ex.15:1-22) showing this day was one of the holy convocations. The EMBRYO also REACHES "SAFETY ON SHORE" on the twenty-first day when it implants.
Yes, "Fertilization usually takes place within 24 hours of ovulation, and the embryo is IMPLANTED in the uterus 6 to 7 days after ovulation" (p.301, art. "Menstruation," Acad. Amer. Encyc.). "Seven days following fertilization, these cells, now called the blastocyst, or conceptus, IMPLANT inside the lining of the uterus" (p.502, art. "pregnancy and birth" vol.15, Acad Amer. Encyc.). "About six days after fertilization the zona pellucida degenerates and the blastocyst becomes attached to and embedded in the endometrium" (p.4, Pictorial Human Embryology). "The former ovum, changing all the time, moves into the uterus. It EMBEDS itself in the wall of the uterus about 7 days after fertilization occurs" (p.25, How We Are Born). "At the end of the first week of life it has burrowed deep into the lining -- this is called IMPLANTATION -- where it is continuously bathed in a lake of its mother's blood" (p.31, Stoppard's Pregnancy and Birth Book). (The Red Sea) "The three to five days the egg takes to reach the uterus (wavesheaf) after being released by the ovary is known as the woman's fertile period" (p.180, "Menstruation," Funk And Wagnalls). On page 55 of Conception, Birth And Contraception we see a chart showing ovulation on the 14th, fertilization on the 15th, entrance into the uterus on the 19th (wave-sheaf), and IMPLANTATION on the 21st. "About seven days after ovulation, the amount of progesterone is at its peak" (p.697, Biology For Christian Schools). "It takes about three days for the young embryo to reach the uterus (wave-sheaf), and by then the embryo consists of a solid mass of about sixteen cells. Once inside the uterus, the embryo remains free within the uterine cavity for about three additional days. Before the tiny embryo ATTACHES to the mother's uterus, the energy needed for growth is supplied by its own cytoplasm and nutrients secreted by the uterus" (p.698, ibid.). In other words, the wave-sheaf is the eighteenth and that is the same Abib 18 when Christ was accepted by the Father in anti-type (John 20:17; Matt.28:9; Lev.23:11). Christ ARRIVED in heaven on Abib 18. The embryo ARRIVES at the uterus on Abib 18 and Israel ARRIVED at the Red Sea after "three days' journey into the wilderness" on Abib 18 (Num.33:7; Ex.14:9,2; 3:18; 5:3; 8:27) and sacrificed to the Eternal.
Pentecost Symbolizes The Beginning Of Fetal Development
The Bible teaches that we must count fifty days from the "wave-sheaf Sunday" within the Feast of Unleavened Bread in order to arrive at the Feast of PENTECOST. Translated into the context of childbirth, we must count fifty days from the 17th to 19th day of the menstrual cycle when the fertilized ovum enters the uterus.
Thus we must count fifty days from the 17th to 19th day, or as the medical profession does it, we could count 53 to 55 days from conception (the first day of Unleavened Bread). This brings us to the eighth week of embryonic development or the 56th day if we use the 19th as our "wave-sheaf Sunday."
Incidentally, the Old Covenant agreement of obedience to God's law by Israel was made on PENTECOST (See Jasher 82:1-7; Ex.19:1; 24:5). Also, the New Covenant agreement of obedience to God's law in the spirit and intent by the church was also made on PENTECOST (Luke 24:49; Acts 2:1). It was on this day that the Holy Spirit came as well as the Law Covenant of Exodus 24. In other words, the developing church reaches a certain form and then merely increases in size and ability from that point onward. Humans must have functioning ability. Once they reach that point, they have reached a new threshold where all that's left is to develop and grow.
Thoughts become words. Words become actions. Actions become habits. Habits become your destiny. "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh" (Matt. 12:34). "As a man thinketh, so is he (Pr. 23:7).
Yes, "By the end of this week (8th week since conception) all organs are represented and nearly all the major structures are formed.... At this time the embryo's tail disappears.... The fingers and toes become completely separated.... A few of the embryo's features are recognizably human ... The eyelids and external ear are more completely developed. Taste buds begin ... By the end of the week, tooth buds of all twenty non-permanent teeth will be present. The heart has attained its final shape" (p.32, Your Baby Before Birth, McCubbin). "At eight weeks, the embryo is one inch long ... Its features are recognizably human at this stage. The simple beginnings of all the organs are also present, but a great deal of growth must take place in the next seven months" (p.207, art. "Embryo," World Book Encyc.). "At the eighth week, all major internal organs are present. Up to this time was the most critical stage of development.... At the end of the second month, the embryo is clearly recognizable as a human. From this point until its birth, it is called the FETUS, which means offspring" (p.700, Biology For Christian Schools). "By eight weeks the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and digits are recognizable. The FETUS has differentiated the reproductive organs into distinct male or female (p.503, Acad. Amer. Encyc.). A 'FETUS " is defined as "the unborn young from the end of the eighth week to the moment of birth" (p.486, Amer. Her. Dict.).Yes, the knowledge of God's law and the Holy Spirit to obey that law are like having "all major internal organs" present in the spiritual Christian. At this stage, the human is recognizable as a god. This is the stage where full development is apparent but not yet a reality. From here on, the FETUS mainly just grows larger. Notice that none of the benchmark dates given so far have been subjective or arbitrary. All are recognized by doctors and nurses and gynecologists as real and significant dates. The quotations have not been taken from religious books. These are secular books and objective dates -- the FOURTEENTH, FIFTEENTH and TWENTY-FIRST of the first month and the FIFTIETH day from the eighteenth which will always fall in the third month. The only conclusion we can draw is that God designed the process of childbirth to parallel exactly the process of salvation typified by the holy festivals of Leviticus 23. Abortionists are tampering with a physical type of the salvation process.
The Eyes And Ears Are Opened By Trumpets
The twenty-sixth week since menstruation finds the pregnancy at the Feast of Trumpets stage (actually it is 25 weeks plus five days, but the pregnancy books show the breakdown in even weekly segments so we must look at the "twenty-six" week segment for the Feast of Trumpets.)We read that "The sensory cells and nerves of the inner EAR are probably fully developed by the end of the sixth month of prenatal life, so the newborn infant is equipped to begin to learn AUDITORY reactions as soon as the sound is properly transmitted to the inner EAR" (p.105, Biography Of The Unborn). "The EYES and internal EARS ... (are not functional) before the end of the sixth month" (pp.101-102, ibid.). Yes, "there is little evidence that the human fetus reacts to SOUND before the seventh month of development. But there is some evidence that during the last two months of intra-uterine life the fetus can be startled by SOUNDS transmitted to it through the walls of the uterus and the mother's abdomen" (p.104, ibid.). It takes several months after birth for the infant to learn the complex reflex movements of the various EYE muscles that are necessary for controlling binocu-lar vision, but his EYES and brain are ready for this learning process by the seventh month of prenatal life" (p.103, ibid.). "The EYELIDS open during the seventh month" (p.700, Biology For Christian Schools). "The EYES are closed until the seventh month, but after that we can be fairly sure that the fetus perceives light as a reddish shimmer" (p.135, A Child Is Born by Lennart Nilsson). Yes, "around this time the foetal EYELIDS reopen" (p.69, Your Baby Before Birth). "At about week 26 the baby's EYELIDS unfuse and reopen. The EYES are completely formed now and perceive light. In addition, the baby can actually HEAR, SMELL and TASTE, and it has been responsive to TOUCH for some time ... its sucking and swallowing skills develop further, helping to prepare for life outside the uterus" (p.70, The Well Pregnancy Book by Mike and Nancy Samuels). "26 weeks: Your baby may move about when it hears loud NOISES" (p.56, The Midwife's Pregnancy and Childbirth Book by McCarthy and Van Der Meer). "By the end of the sixth month the fetus is prepared for this part of independent life (SUCKING and SWALLOWING)" (p.108, Biography Of The Unborn). "Seventh month ... TASTE buds have developed" (p.2, How does your baby grow? by Lederle Laboratories). "By the seventh lunar month, the EYE is sensitive to light ... The internal, middle, and external components of the EAR are well developed by mid-pregnancy. The fetus apparently HEARS some sounds in utero as early as the 24th to 26th week of gestation ... by the seventh month of gestation, the fetus is responsive to variations in the TASTE of ingested substances" (pp.166-167, Williams Obstetrics). "Sixth month ... The EYES are open and will soon be sensitive to light ... Your baby can now HEAR sounds" (p.2, How does your baby grow?). "The nostrils are plugged shut from the third through sixth months by an overgrowth of skin cells. When the NOSTRILS are opened in the seventh month, amniotic fluid probably flows into the nasal cavities and bathes the olfactory lining" (p.106, Biography Of The Unborn).The fetus is figuratively "awakened" from its "sleep" on the Feast of Trumpets just as many Christians who sleep in their graves will be resurrected to life on this day. The trumpet will SOUND and the dead in Christ will rise first (1 Cor.15:52). In another sense, many Christians will be spiritually asleep in the end-time until the second coming of Christ at the last trump. He is pictured as returning to ten virgins -- all of whom are sleeping (Matt.25:5). When he comes on the Feast of Trumpets, they will awaken. By destroying the fetus at this stage, an abortionist typifies Satan's effort to cause Christians to fall away in the end time.
The Blood Of Atonement
In the second week of the seventh month, the BLOOD has matured to the point of being able to carry oxygen via the hemoglobin independently by respiration and circulation (p.26, The Seven Feasts Of Israel, Levitt). At twenty-eight weeks "Erythropoiesis in spleen ends; bone marrow becomes major sight" of BLOOD production (p.253, Human Reproduction by Page, Villee & Villee). "At 26 to 28 weeks, CAPILLARY networks proliferate close to the developing alveoli" (p.261, ibid.). "RED BLOOD CELL production shifts entirely to the bone marrow" in the seventh lunar month (25-28 weeks) (p.71, The Well Pregnancy Book). A chart on page 151 of Williams Obstetrics, 17th edition, illustrates the fact that BLOOD production shifts from the liver to the bone marrow in the seventh month.Aaron offered one goat as a sin offering and brought its BLOOD within the veil (Lev.16:15). At no other time in the year did BLOOD come inside the veil or upon the mercy seat. Similarly, this is the first time in fetal development when BLOOD production is in the bone.
Lungs Develop On The Feast Of Booths
Actually the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles is one day before the twenty-eighth week is completed, but the books on pregnancy only go by regular weekly intervals -- not daily development -- so we must look at the 28th week of pregnancy for Tabernacles."The LUNGS themselves are poorly developed before the seventh month of fetal life.... By the seventh month of prenatal life enough AIR SACS have developed to provide the growing fetus with the oxygen needed for life. The muscles of the chest wall and diaphragm necessary for INHALING and EXHALING are fully functional. When the reflex nerve arcs necessary for controlling their rhythmic contraction and relaxation mature within the brain, the fetus is ready to start regular BREATHING" (pp.113-114, Biography Of The Unborn). "Twenty-eight week fetus. At about this stage the LUNG has matured to the extent of usually allowing for some aerobic exchange, but it is a very hazardous time to be born. The major cause of death from this period of development till adulthood is prematurity, being born too soon. The major reason for death in the premature is respiratory insufficiency.... The LUNGS become increasingly capable of aerobic oxygen exchange in late fetal life" (p.43, Prenatal Life And The Pregnant Woman). On page 253 of Human Reproduction, we read that on the twenty-eighth week the "LUNGS (are) capable of breathing air." Charts on pages 159 and 161 of Williams Obstetrics demonstrate significant changes in theRESPIRATORY system at about 28 weeks.Of course, just as humans live in temporary booths or huts for seven days (Lev.23:39), the time will come when resurrected Christians will live inside of human beings as SPIRIT. The fetus now can breathe in AIR (pneuma or ruach means AIR or SPIRIT). Just as the Holy Spirit lives inside of true Christians now, so also true Christians made immortal will live inside of converted humans in the millenium. From this point on the child is living in a temporary dwelling (the womb) that it will no longer need.
Baby Will Survive If Born On The Eighth Day
Normally babies are in their mother's wombs for 266 days from fertilization till delivery. But since fertilization occurs on the fourteenth day of the menstrual cycle, doctors add fourteen days to 266 to get 280 DAYS from the last menstrual period to the birth date. This is FORTY WEEKS or nine calendar months. It is an unusual coincidence that 280 DAYS (10 x 28) is a multiple of 28. Further, the moon was originally created with a precise 28-day sidereal orbit around the earth to match the woman's menstrual cycle of 28 days. Today, however, it takes the moon about 27 1/3 days to orbit 360 degrees. But by the twenty-eighth or twenty-ninth week (the Last Great Day is the 28th week plus six days), the baby will survive birth. "At twenty-eight weeks the fetus is VIABLE, which means that, according to legal definition, it is capable of a separate and INDEPENDENT existence, and if prematurely born, has its first chance of SURVIVAL. Occasionally babies delivered before the twenty-eighth week of pregnancy do Survive with very highly specialized expert medical and nursing care and attention, but they are very few and very lucky" (p.71, Pregnancy by Bourne and Danforth). According to The Complete Pregnancy Workbook by Sloane, Benedict and Mintzer, by the 29th week "Development has progressed enough so that nearly half of fetuses can, if born this early, SURVIVE with intensive care" (p.122). At 28 weeks "the development of the fetus is virtually completed, and some premature babies are BORN no older than this one. The extra time in the womb gives it added strength and health and time to acquire from its mother precious, though short-term, immunity to a number of diseases" (p.16, Life Before Birth by Time Inc.). "At approximately seven months the fetus is FULLY DEVELOPED" (p.114, Pregnancy, Birth And The Newborn Baby). It is assumed that by this point (28 weeks) the baby is 'CONSCIOUS,' based on brain development" (p.56, The Midwife's Pregnancy And Childbirth Book by McCartney and VanDerMeer). "In the U.K., according to legal definition, the foetus becomes 'VIABLE' at 28 weeks" (p.76, Your Baby Before Birth, McCubbin). Yes, "the seven-month fetus is frequently able to survive premature birth.... in the seventh-month fetus the nervous system seems to be sufficiently developed to meet these demands of INDEPENDENT life" (p.109, Biography Of The Unborn). Babies turn head-down inside the uterus "after about 28 weeks, and stay that way until birth" (p.86, Pregnancy Day By Day by Kitzinger and Bailey).Just as a Christian is no longer living in a temporary shelter or hut on the Last Great Day, so also the baby is no longer living in the womb on the 22nd day of the seventh month. The Christian has been "born again" (John 3:3) just as the baby has been born once. This is the meaning of the Last Great Day. Thus we see that the mother (church) is a sort of womb (boothe) for the baby (Christian). Birth (immortality) doesn't therefore automatically make the baby (Christian) a mature adult (totally God-like) all at once. Even after immortality there comes a maturing process just as a baby grows into adulthood as a mature human. Many premature babies don't survive just as many Christians will not survive birth into immortality. This is the second death and those Christians who refuse to grow and mature will be "still births."
Birth Is A Type Of The Resurrection
The labor pains of birth are a type and prophecy of the great tribulation on Christians just before Christ returns. Just before Christians are resurrected to life, they must endure the persecution against the true church (Micah 4:9-10; 1 Th.5:3; John 16:21; Rev.12:2). The pain will increase to the point of blood -- or martyrdoms. The woman will be torn apart by schism and division as the resurrection takes place.Under labor contractions, the amnion sac bulges and bursts "breaking the water." After about fourteen hours, the baby has been pushed out of the mother's uterus and the umbilical cord is cut. With a pat on the baby's rump, it begins to breathe. A small amount of blood accompanies the afterbirth, but the uterus usually heals quickly.Incidentally, we know that Esau was a "premature" baby because he "came out red, all over like an hairy garment" (Gen.25:25). We know that around the 28th week "The foetus's skin is red and completely covered by its protective greasy coating, or vernix" (p.76, Your Baby Before Birth). "By six months of age specialized structures in the baby's skin are formed ... There is a fine growth of hair on the head and sometimes over the back and shoulders" (p.113, Pregnancy, Birth And The Newborn Baby). By the seventh month a "Protective blanket of downy hair and cheesy substance called 'vernix' cover body" (p.20, The Maternity Sourcebook by Lesko). In the seventh month, "The fine hair that once covered the whole body now becomes limited to the back and shoulders" (p.71, The Well Pregnancy Book). "Seventh month -- Fine downy hair covers your baby's body" (How does your baby grow? by Lederle laboratories). "During the seventh month the skin, which is red and wrinkled, is covered with a white substance called a vernix, or vernix caseosa which protects the skin. The vernix is a mixture of epithelial cells, lanugo hairs, and secretions" (p.148, art. "Fetus," Funk & Wagnalls New Encyc.). But Jacob was born at the same time and was normal. So we can conclude that Esau stopped developing at about week 28, but was born later than the twenty-eighth week. He was "premature" in the sense of development.